Sports May Teach You More About Business Than You’d Think They Would

Yesterday, I was lucky enough to log into a webinar hosted by Ernst & Young Women Athletes Business Network, in which the panel included tennis legend Martina Navratilova and Olympic gold medalist and TV host Summer Sanders. (Not too shabby, yeah?) The women came together to discuss the notion that female athletes (past or present) have a huge tool kit to help them achieve big things in other industries -- and that playing sports in general can set you up to be super successful in any career. I broke down the five biggest lessons I learned so that you, too, can step up your game.

“A great champion works through setbacks with a comeback.”– Donna de Varona, Olympic Champion and Lead Advisor, EY Women Athletes Business Network

When Varona dropped this line, fellow panelist Summer Sanders noted how she used the word “setback” instead of “failure.” For athletes, setbacks are just learning experiences, they agreed. “It’s not winning that teaches you resilience,” Sanders added, “You think, ‘If I work harder and just stay focused, I’ll do better tomorrow.'”

“Women have a hard time letting go. When we make a mistake, we harp on it.” — Fabiola Molina, Brazilian Olympian and Co-Founder and Co-CEO, Fabiola Molina Swimwear

Are you nodding your head in agreement right now? Because I sure was! Molina’s lesson made me realize that maybe I should’ve stayed on the high school swim team a little longer: “Sports teach you to let go. You have to let go because you have to swim the next meet, race the next race.”

“Beat them in the market.” — Helena Morrissey, CEO of Newton Investment Management and founder of the 30% Club

Morrissey took the idea of competition in sports and translated it into the perfect sucker-punch strategy for all of your haters. The lesson behind it being that if someone doubts you, “prove to them that you can do it,” she added. Translation: Be better than they think you can be.

“Networking is more important than ever–it is the key to success.” — Pattie Sellers, Senior Editor-at-Large, FORTUNE, and Executive Director of MPW/Live Content, Time Inc.

One observation that Morrissey brought up during the discussion was that, as the mother of nine (!) children, she’s noticed that boys are consistently encouraged to participate in team sports (football, basketball, soccer) while those opportunities decrease for girls as they get older. She added, “In the corporate world, I hear women say they’re struggling to play the corporate game.” All the reason why Sanders’ call to action is so important: “We need to stick together and be part of a positive group — not be threatened by a powerful woman but join her team. Let’s all work together to achieve something great.”

In sports, goals are everything. “That’s why we get up at 4:30 in the morning to go swimming, because we want to be better,” Molina added. “If you have motivation, that changes everything. If you don’t have a motivation, what’s the point?”